The Last Days of Chez Nous & Two Friends is a reissue of a book by award-winning Australian author and journalist, Helen Garner. It was first published in 1992, with a preface by the author. This Text Classics edition also features an insightful Afterword by internationally renowned screenwriter Laura Jones. Chez Nous and Two Friends are both screenplays.

The Last Days of Chez Nous was written in 1992, produced by Jan Chapman and directed by Gillian Armstrong. Vicki, younger sister of Beth, returns from an extended overseas stay to the house where Beth lives with her French husband, JP, and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Annie. While, on the surface, it seems to be a happy household, it is soon apparent that there is an undercurrent of tension. When Beth leaves on a road trip with her father, the dynamics of the household change.

Two Friends was written in 1986, produced by Jan Chapman and directed by Jane Campion. Louise and Kelly are fourteen, best friends who have been accepted into City Girls High School. The story covers a ten-month period of their lives, a time of significant upheaval, and is told in reverse, in five parts. This means that the reader/viewer knows the outcome of the story and the reasons for that outcome are gradually revealed.

In her preface, Garner explains how and why she came to write these screenplays, and how different the process is from writing a novel, or a non-fiction book. As the link between the author’s mind and the screen, a screenplay sits in a unique position. Descriptions are often quite sparse, and Garner explains how important the actor’s interpretation is in bringing the author’s message to the audience.

As screenplays, the lack of Garner’s usual rich prose means that these stories rely mainly on the dialogue. It is therefore a testament to Garner’s talent that the humour and pathos shine through, and even for those who have not seen the final product, the result is easily brought to mind. The stories are absorbing, the preface, quite fascinating. Recommended!